With another week of Unrivaled action wrapped up, it’s time to dive into some key takeaways as the league is starting to ramp up.
Napheesa Collier Has Taken Over
The Unrivaled league so far has been the Napheesa Collier show and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. This woman has been getting busy on the court, as she’s averaging 28.5 points, 13 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. What’s impressed me with her game throughout the early stages of this competition is how comfortable she has looked going off the bounce. I’ve seen her breakdown and glide by a multitude of great defenders like Jewell Loyd, Satou Sabally, and Rickea Jackson. No one has been able to stop her from getting to the rim. Collier’s ability to navigate in the mid-popst area has been a treat to watch. Her patented post fade off 1-foot has been money. Aside from her innate offensive talent, the activity on the defensive glass is another key aspect that has contributed to her team’s undefeated start. In her last outing against Vinyl, she ended up totalling 16 boards. Collier is everywhere on both ends of the floor and it hasn’t stopped her from being the leading scorer in all of the league which is truly special. If I had to pick a front-runner for league MVP, it would definitely be her no question.
The Winless Mist
A roster that has Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, DiJonai Carrington, and Courtney Vandersloot should be dominating this competition, but they’ve gotten off to an extremely slow start. Through the first 4 games they have yet to gain a W in the win column. In their 3rd and 4th games of the season against Phantom and Rose, they only lost by 5 points in each contest. It’s not like they have been getting steam-rolled in any of their losses, the difference is their opponents have found ways to pull away from them late. Their most recent loss against Rose were dictated in the final two possessions, as Jewell Loyd threw a bad pass as the Mist were only down by 3. This crucial late game mistake ended up leading to the game-ending shot by Chelsea Gray. The Mist just haven’t found a way to finish these close games which does draw reasonable concern, but I believe in them to turn this around because they have such an incredible roster and coach. The Mist’s coach Phil Handy, is considered to be a basketball guru by many within the hoops community and he knows what winning looks like on every level, so I’m truly confident he can conjure up a solution for this winless start to the season. A positive that the Mist can build off of, is that they are ranked 2nd in rebounding amongst the league. They compete and attack the glass at a high level which has limited their opponents second chance opportunities. This has helped them stay within striking distance of their close games, but they have to score more than their current average of 64.5 points per game (2nd to last in the league), and take better care of the ball to successfully close out games.
Better 4-0 Team?
After the conclusion of Week 2, there’s still one question that looms over Unrivaled. Who’s the better undefeated team? the Lunar Owls or the Laces. You can make a case for either team, as they’ve already shown what it takes to win the whole league. Both teams contain the number 1 and 2 leaders in scoring, Kayla McBride (Laces) and Napheesa Collier (Lunar Owls). Aside from those two elite scorers, each team contains a plethora of other scoring options to balance out their offensive attack. These are the highest scoring clubs in all of the competition, as they both average at least 75 points per game. Their high offensive outputs illustrate the desire for them to get out and run in transition and share the ball, which is incredibly advantageous since there’s only 6 players on the court at one time. Where these two teams differ is on the defensive end. The Lunar Owls block more shots at an average of 2.8 per game, while the Laces on average get more steals and rebounds. The Laces are a bit more active on the defensive end which is a plus, but it’ll be hard to keep up as they match up with Collier and the rest of their squad that only turns the ball over 4.8 times a game. Turnovers will be the deciding factor of their upcoming game on Friday, January 31. The team that can control the pace and create more possessions will win this game because Collier and McBride are showing no signs of slowing down, so the other team must give themselves a chance by taking the ball away and out of their hands.